When preparing a nursery in a home for a new baby's arrival, typically a fan is not high on the list of necessities. But, recent studies have indicated that an addition of a fan may help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the number one killer of infants from one month to one year old. Researchers believe that fans may help to circulate fresh air and prevent babies from suffocating by re-breathing exhaled carbon dioxide or circulating toxins in the air surrounding a cribs mattress.
However, currently available fans may do more harm than good. Commercially available fans are designed to cool a large area or entire room and use of such fans to circulate fresh air to prevent SIDS may overcool the infant, thereby adversely impacting the baby's health. Moreover, the noise from commercially available fans may disturb the sleeping infant or child. Further, these commercially available fans have sharp fan blades rotating at high speed, so they cannot be located within immediate proximity of the sleeping baby, such as within a baby's crib, because they are too dangerous. These sharp fan blades can potentially cut or injure the baby's limbs, toes and fingers. In summary, these commercially fans are too powerful, too loud and too menacing to a baby, and too dangerous to locate within close proximity of the baby.
Accordingly, the claimed invention proceeds upon a desirability of providing a low volume, low oscillating, safe fan that not only comforts the baby but safely provides air circulation within immediate proximity of the baby without endangering the baby with sharp fan blades that can potentially cut or injure the baby's fingers and toes. Teddy bears and similar stuffed animals have been used to comfort and console infants and children for generations. Nurseries are typically filled with various teddy bears and other stuffed animals. The claimed smart stuffed animal with air flow ventilation system can be located within close proximity of an infant or child, e.g., within a crib, near a car seat, etc., to safely provide critical air circulation within immediate proximity of an infant or child, such as circulating fresh air across a mattress of a crib.